VIVA LAS VEGAS

Hey Everybody!

How is it going? I am writing you from Las Vegas I have been here for a few days now and it is going really well! So I will start from the beginning! Thursday I left from the MTC and headed for the Airport. We arrived there I called my family which is so great! I loved hearing all of your voices I was glad to hear that you guys are doing so well I love you SO MUCH! After My phone call I went and got on the plane and landed in Las Vegas. We got to the luggage pick up and I grabbed my first bag and then I waited for the second one....and waited...and waited... It never came. We went and talked to the baggage claim people and they said that it was scanned in downstairs which means that it came up the ramp...which means someone took it....:( so that was definitely not a fun way to enter the field. Fortunately the one suitcase I had contained all my pants and white shirts and garments so I was able to work which was great and such a blessing. The other bag had all my p day stuff and some micellaneous things and all my medicine and vitamins, oh and my socks... haha. So I have been borrowing some other elders socks which is really nice them. So after 5 days if no one has brought my bag back I can call and they will begin to reimberse me. So it will all work out. So after the airport I went and met the mission president and got some food which is always wonderful. Then I met my new companions. Elder Tuione and Elder Cunningham I am in a threesome. It is great I have once again been blessed with great companions once again! One was called spanish and the other english. So we talked a lot of english which is not good for my spanish but that is ok. Because I am teaching people the gospel here in english or spanish it does not matter the gospel is the same. So l arrived on friday and guess what I had a baptism saturday haha. My companions had been teaching her and it was time for her baptism! It was such a great spirtual experience. Obviously I didn't really teach her at all. But I still felt that love for her and so happy for her that she now has the gospel in her life. Her name was Roberta Johnson. I had another amazing experience yesterday! We had an appointment with a woman named Erin. I say her at church in the morning and introduced my self (everyone already knows my companions.) So we went over to her apartment which isn't in the best area and you can tell that people who are living there aren't really doing to well. But we went in and started teaching her about the scriptures. This was one of the most humbling experiences in my life. We were talking about what does she hope for in the future. She said she is wanting her husband to get our of jail. I have no idea why he is there. She is a mother of 3. all 11 and younger I think. And she also does not have a job. She told us how she would try to get to an interview and she didn't have the money to pay the fair on the bus. She said how she would beg the bus driver to let it pass but he of course had to say no. And it was such a reality check for me. I mean really I honestly knew that this kind of stuff happened in the world. But I have never met anyone in that situation ya know? And to hear someone tell how hard there life is. It was interesting, very spiritual...We told her how diving into the scriptures and doing what the Lord wants you to do is how we are able to recieve peace in our lives especially when things are hard. When we rely on the Lord when things are good and bad we are going to be blessed. We are promised that. She loves the Bible and reads all the time so we challenged her to start reading out of the BOM. One chapter a day. She agreed and she has comitted to baptism on the 21st of april. So she is striving to hit that date.

Leaving the MTC was a very different experience. It felt like I was going to be in there forever! But now that I am out here it seems so long ago that I was in the MTC. It is real now and I am helping people find Christ even though I am not a good teacher yet and I struggle with street contacting and stuff like that. I am still giving my all and doin my best. I know that the Lord has blessed me so much and I really do love all of you so much for your support and everything. Thank you! My new P day is on mondays so expect an email every monday while I'm in Las Vegas. I have no idea how long I will be here. But I know this is where the Lord wants me and I am so excited for that. Love you all so much thanks again for everything and all your support!

Con Amor Elder Oliver